Morgan Equine Veterinary & Farrier Hospital

"My TB/draft cross is 17hands but his feet don’t seem very tough. It is hard to keep shoes on his front feet. He pulls them off and now there isn’t much to nail a show to. I live on the East Coast where the footing is pretty kind. Should I try letting him grow his hooves out without shoes? What supplements will help? Are big horses with small, crumbling feet destined for permanent lameness? How do I care for his feet?"

Many owners of this type of horse have the same questions. Warmblood and warmblood crossed horses in particular, naturally have flat feet that must load more weight per square inch than a smaller horse with a similar sized foot.    

Keeping shoes on this type of horse requires skillful shoeing as well as management by owners.  If your horse is wearing too light of a shoe for his size that is punched too fine with excess length you will likely loose shoes. If you are turning your horse out in square wire fencing, mud  or other uneven ground without bell boots, you may be precipitating lost shoes with your management. The combination makes for a high percentage of lost shoes.

The shoe requirements for this horse at a minimum would be 3/8 by 1 inch stock with nail holes punched down the center.  The shoe must be nailed through the white line, not just the outer hoof wall. Depending on the foot, toe or quarter clips would be appropriate, never side clips. Break over must be addressed.  Many of these horses also have distal limb pathologies that require shoe modifications to help them move with efficiency.  Even a shoe modification that is very small can help in a big way. This is an excellent time for Farriers and Veterinarians to communicate about the needs of the horse.  

If there is not enough foot to nail a shoe on right now, you may consider using glue on shoes until he gets a stronger foot.  It is important to note here that commercially available glue on shoes may not come in a big enough size to fit your horse. Using Equilox patches or a direct glue technique are excellent alternative options in those cases.  Some form of frog pressure initially usually benefits horses that can tolerate the pressure. There are many ways to accomplish this and your farrier will be able to determine which method to utilize.  Added frog pressure takes the load off the wall and heels allowing the foot to produce vertical depth and decrease flaring. A stronger, straighter wall that can hold a shoe will be the resulting product. 

Without shoeing, you will continue to have the same problems, as the hoof will naturally revert to dealing with the load of the horse on its own. We typically see horses that go from being shod with a healthy supported foot back to flat footed without vertical depth and weak walls in about 5 weeks of being barefoot if they naturally have poor quality feet.  Of course there are the exceptional naturally strong footed horses that go wonderfully barefoot.

The problem with the east coast is the moisture and the humidity. Wet grass really creates problems for horses’ feet.  Maintaining moisture balance is extremely important.  If a hoof continuously goes through wet to dry cycles in short periods of time, the hoof wall becomes “soggy”, then it dries out causing shrinkage. The result is loose nails and clinches which are then susceptible to shoe loss. And, as you have described, you are losing hoof wall with those nails when the shoe is lost.

To minimize this problem, we suggest applying non-petroleum based hoof dressing to the foot before your horse goes out on morning grass or keep dressing on the hoof continuously if he is pastured so his foot is protected in the early morning hours. Hoof dressing also needs to be applied BEFORE bathing, not after. This is a common misconception and a problem for show horses that are bathed many times per week. We recommend a natural ingredient based hoof product available in the US market called Kevin Bacons Hoof Dressing (Kevin Bacon the Australian Olympic Show Jumper not the Actor!).  Although they have been the mainstay of the market since hoof dressing became available, Petroleum based products, in our opinion do not allow the hoof to maintain a normal hoof moisture balance.

Not restricted to the east coast, but certainly an issue is fly stomping. Continuous agitation and stomping loosens clinches significantly which eventually turns into lost shoes or even worse, shoes with clips or nails embedded into the sole because they have been displaced.  Our personal horses wear fly gear including fly leg boots. When they do not have their fly boots on they have a pyrethrin based product wiped on. We do not use fly spray.  In our experience, spray on products do not provide adequate coverage for the entire day and being environmentally friendly, we tend to limit the use of aerosolized products.

All horses require a daily vitamin and mineral supplement. Start with one that is formulated for performance horses or specifically for your region. If after two shoeing periods your farrier is not noticing a difference in foot quality, add a hoof supplement to the vitamin and mineral mix.  There are many commercially available products. As a general rule we do not recommend iodine or sea weed/kelp as a foot supplement. Iodine is a very unique mineral.  It’s primary role is in thyroid hormone production. Although it is true, that when the thyroid works well, the hooves will grow normally, iodine alone is not an essential nutrient for healthy hoof growth in a horse with normal thyroid function.  Generally, most horses get enough iodine from iodized salt that is included in their grain products and if they have a mineral or salt block available. Seeking the help of a nutritionist is highly advised when considering the use of iodine supplementation.  Seaweed, an excellent source of iodine, can vary greatly in iodine content, mostly on the high or excessive side. Deficiency or excess will cause the same symptoms, a primary problem with the thyroid, reproductive issues and in foals, significant vitality concerns. Please read the ingredients of any supplement and check with your veterinarian before administering.

In summary, you will need to address the reasons why your horse is losing shoes. You cannot do anything about the conformational size of his feet, but you do have control over the management which will improve the crumbly state of his feet. Start with providing a daily vitamin and mineral supplement so he has all the nutrients to build a better quality hoof. Then, pay attention to the frequency of the shoeing interval. Some horses in the spring and summer need shoeing every 4 to 5 weeks, some in the winter can go 7 weeks.  Always aim for about 6 weeks. Have the correct size shoe. In general a wide, thick, heavy enough shoe that is punched coarsely will provide tremendous benefit.  And, after the horse is shod, keep a natural based hoof dressing on him. Vigilant management in this way will reduce the number of lost shoes as well as produce a healthier and stronger foot.